A/N: Okay, started of with injured! I know exactly how I'm going to do this... Oh and I already have a review!
Vallama Mayhem: Thank you! I'm excited for a new start too!
They were coming.
As soon as I drew the foul stench into my nostrils, I could see what was coming. The blood froze in my veins. My heart was pounding, ready to leap out of my chest. Fear prickled along my spine.
"M-mama?" The squeaky voice was barely able to draw me away from my panic. I turned my gaze to the small, light gray shape before me. My daughter. The best thing that had ever happened to me... was getting ready to see the face of terror. A concerned look swept over her little face, little semi-erect ears flopping down as if she could see the horror inside me.
"We have to go, now." I choked the words of firmly. The shocked look on her face didn't surprise me. I would be surprised if my own mother, who had clung to one narrow alleyway and called it her home for years, suddenly wanted to leave it all behind.
"But-but... why?" I didn't respond. I couldn't. The choking scent was growing stronger.
I forced myself to rise to my shaky paws and lean down, clutching my daughter's scruff in my jaws. She let out another squeal, yet didn't wriggle around in an attempt to escape my grasp. I lashed my tail back and forth anxiously, before spinning around and racing away as fast as my paws could carry me.
"Looks like she's been quite reluctant to leave... Too reluctant. She's going to come back. Track her down." The icy voice seemed to pierce through my soul. They were back.
Who were they? They were a vicious group, or 'pack' of street mutts with their hearts set on tearing me in two. To tell the truth, I had a nice bit of territory in the harsh, gray land of the city. Plenty of food and scraps, great shelter, and a hidden, safe location. Well, the last one wasn't entirely true, based on the fact that my mate had recently been taken to who knows where. But the point was that it was a decent place. I loved that alleyway, but so did the dogs...
"Mama! Mama! Wh-who said that? What's going on!" The cries of my pup were faint as the blood pounded in my head. My vision was hazy... I could barely see the pavement in front of me.
Deeper and deeper I fled, into the alleyway, cutting sharp turns in lousy attempts to throw them off my trail. I could hear their pawsteps behind me. I just wasn't fast enough! Those mutts could scent me for miles!
I still had to try. My beautiful, kind little daughter... she didn't deserve to be brutally murdered by those-those flea-bitten monsters. My pace quickened. Theirs did too.
Faster and faster, farther and farther, until I saw it.
The end.
A tall, giant brick wall standing in my way. Beside it on one side another, on the other side a sturdy wooden fence with a dumpster next to it. I didn't even bother glancing around for an escape, for I was far too exhausted already. I sat myself down and pressed against the wall. My daughter was now struggling as I held her there, whimpering and crying out. I set her down gently and released my tongue, allowing it to loll out of my mouth and hang there. I gasped for air, panting frantically.
"Mama, are-are you okay? Mama! What's happening!" My pup nosed my left paw in an attempt to catch my attention. My eyes widened as I spotted one dark brown tinted paw stamp itself within view. I stopped my panting, placing my own paw protectively over her and bringing her closer to me.
"Well, well... look who we have here." A terrible, raspy voice said with a chuckle. I flattened my ears, preparing to fight. Finally the leader of the 'pack' padded out of hiding and towards us. I could feel my little pup trembling beside me. The awfully large, light brown street dog had darker brown paws, tail tip, facial markings and an assorted amount of markings on his flanks. An old, sleek black collar hung around his neck, small spikes buried within the tough leather. A small scar was visible on his snout, a torn ear going along with it.
"What do you even want with us? P-please, just let me and my daughter be on our way and we won't bother you agai-" I was cut off by a sharp, firm bark.
"You and your savage little pup are not to be trusted! Nobody can trust a dog who loved a-" This time it was my turn to cut him off.
"Don't even go there, you flea-bag! You're much more of a monster than-than he ever was!" I spat bitterly, my hackles bristling. I narrowed my eyes, pure rage burning inside me, ready to be taken out on that mutt.
"Enough with the chit-chat, I ain't lettin' you escape no matter what you say!" His menacing yellow eyes seemed to slice right through me, a rumbling growl rising from his throat.
"Wait-" But it was too late.
He lunged at me, lips pulled back to reveal sharp, gleaming white fangs. A choking force gripped around my throat. His razor sharp teeth dug into my neck, blood quickly drawn. I yelped in agony realizing that I had to react quick. I lashed my hind legs out in an attempt to push him off.
"Mama!" My pup whimpered in terror, jumping back. I tried my best to choke out a warning, tell her to run, tell her to escape, but all that came out was a pitiful gurgle.
Blood trickled down my neck, staining every patch of fur it touched a crimson red. I struggled beneath all of the pressure before twisting over and shaking as hard as I could to throw my attacker off. Surprisingly, it worked, yet he only scrambled back to his paws and reared up for another attack.
I had to get away. My eyes darted from one object in the alleyway to another. The dumpster. I could possibly make a jump like that though in my state, and the 'pack' would follow too easily. I didn't know what to do! Thoughts raced through my mind. The throbbing rain jolted through me, ripping me from the inside out. My foe leaped at me once again, this time closing his fangs around my leg. I let out another yelp as his fangs pierced my skin, burying themselves deeper and deeper.
I opened my mouth in a soundless screech of horror, trying to crawl forward. I was a goner, then and there. But my daughter wasn't.
"R-r-run!" I coughed the words out, blood splattering onto the pavement. My pup watched, frozen in fear. Darkness began to creep in from the edges of my vision. My little girl stared at me one more time before spinning around and sliding underneath the dumpster, somewhere I would never fit.
Then it hit me. I knew what I had to do. If I had one slim chance of surviving, this would be the way to do it.
I fell limp. I allowed the darkness to take over, welcoming it. The pain searing through me was enough to make me die for real... but I just had to fake it for long enough that my attacker would leave.
And, shockingly, it worked.
It wasn't easy. I kept my eyes slightly open in order to sustain my life, yet otherwise I was dead. The deep neck wound and leg wound were only two of many injuries that that dog 'pack' had left behind. The hard, cold pavement around me was soaked with warm blood - my blood - and my fur was almost entirely stained red. After what seemed like an eternity lying there on the ground, I finally heard the sweetest, silky smooth voice I had ever heard in my life.
"M-m-mama! Mama? Are you okay?" It was my daughter. A relieved smile found it's way across my face.
"J-just injured..." I coughed in a failing attempt to chuckle at my pup, hoping that she would creep out from underneath the dumpster and comfort me... yet she was obviously far too terrified to do so. I could barely make her out through my blurry vision. She was trembling heavily. I frowned, heartbroken to see her in such a scared state. I had to get up, tell her it was okay, yet I didn't have enough strength left inside me.
I still had to try though. Slowly, I shifted my weight and positioned myself so that I could heave my wounded body up.
"Ow..." I cringed, forcing my legs to straighten out. Finally I was standing once again, shakily, but still standing.
"Mama?" She echoed the word once again. The only thing she knew to call me.
"Sweetie... P-please... I won't hurt you..." I choked the words, barely able to speak. Slowly, one paw poked out, then another, before my entire daughter was out.
"M-mama..." I smiled a bit as she buried her snout in my chest fur, a sensation of warmth wrapping around the both of us.
A/N: There we go! I bet you all know who that was about! ;D If you don't, say it in the reviews! Thanks for reading!